I dragged an old terracotta suitcase, with a strange belt and bulges on the sides, out of a pile of clothes in a huge wardrobe. I unfastened the belt and opened the suitcase. At first, I noticed a printed cotton textile. The fabrics that are stored here were purchased before 1980, during the time of the Soviet Union. All the cloths from this period resemble each other. Even today, in many families you can find textiles that are similar to these locked up in the old suitcase for 37 years. Upon touching them, each one starts to tell a different story.
My white textile with small dots and prettiest blue flowers, tells me about a person I have never met – my grandmother, a woman who wholeheartedly selected and bought these fabrics years ago. I touch the cloth and imagine a robe she would make with it. I imagine how she puts it on and how it fits the face that I have only seen in black-and-white photographs. There are many other textiles in the suitcase. They tell me stories about my grandmother and the clothes she was going to sew, however, unexpectedly they appeared in this suitcase. Who knows, maybe one day they will get away from here and start to create new, entirely different stories?!
Nino Burduli
Textile designer
